Rebirth

I sat in silence as the Professor thought about what I had shown him. I couldn't leave anything out, no matter how I tried, so he had learned the full story. His eyes had taken on a sad, regretful expression when we had stopped communicating, and now the only noise in the room was Scott and Storm talking quietly. I couldn't take it.

"Professor.." I started, looking at my hands. I barely registered the talking quiet, and I began to make my thumbs attack each other. "Do you think... Anni and I, well. Do you think I'll ever be able to get over it?" Unintentionally, tears began to crowd my eyes, and I rubbed at them with fists.

He smiled at me, in the way I would imagine a father smiling at me. "Jasey, all the time in your life you can remember, you've had things like that happen to you. Not even the strongest mutants would be able to handle that without some sort of insanity. I don't think you'll get over it, but it will get better." His voice was so calm, collected. I simply nodded and leaned back into the hospital. The Professor left with Storm, and Scott slowly made his way over to the bed. He sat with a small smile.

"You really scared us, Jasey." Earlier, when talking to Anni, Scott had been more outgoing. Now he was quieter, his eyes on the IV connected to my hand.

"I'm sorry Scott. I didn't mean to," I wished my voice would get stronger. It was driving me crazy. I didn't want to be seen as this girl unable to take anything. I was twenty, for crying out loud, and I had been through some of the most trying training ever. I wasn't weak. I didn't see why I had to sound weak. But then I thought about what the Professor said. "No matter how much you train the body, Jasey, the mind is still vulnerable." It scared me.

"I know. Just, what happened?" He looked up at me now, and even though I couldn't see his eyes, I could feel his need for an answer. "You just started screaming things like no, and not Anneliese. And Anni tried to tell you she was right there, but it was like you couldn't hear anything. And then Logan walked into the room, and you convulsed and passed out. What did you see, Jasey?"

I froze when I saw the vivid memory in his mind; Anni, crouched over me, crying and trying to shake me into recognition. Scott and Logan trying to get the kids to go back to bed. I began to cry again, and leaned into Scott's open arms. He simply held me, knowing that I needed to be comforted. My muscles ached as I talked, softly. "Scott, I couldn't begin to tell you the things that have happened to me and Anni. We were.. we were, tortured." He stiffened, and began to rub on my lower back as tears leaked out my eyes. "I-I... I had to w-watch them tort-torture her, Scott! I had to w-watch them at-tack my sister. And when I-I would jump in, th-they would p-put.. they'd put acid in water and t-try to drown-n me!"

I knew Scott was a strong man when I had first met him. He had this aura around him that drew me in. I could feel safety radiate off of his very being. So when Scott began to shake with tears, I couldn't help but hold him tighter, no matter how badly it hurt. This man wasn't the normal to cry, I knew that. So feeling him crying made me feel like there wasn't any hope, when I knew there was. It just, seemed impossible. And to have this man crying for us? For me? It broke my heart.

I had never done anything to deserve anything in my life. Not to deserve the pain from the Plant; nor to deserve Anni; nothing to deserve anything. Especially not Scott. Not this perfect being in front of me. He had his whole life in front of him; and I would forever be stuck at twenty. Realizing that, my heart constricted in pain, and I held onto him a little tighter.

"It's okay now, Jasey. You're safe now. I'll never let anything happen to you, ever. I promise, I'm going to protect you and your sister. You'll never have to go back to those monsters. So, please. Don't be so scared." His voice was a strong, sympathetic whisper on the top of my head as he kissed my scalp repeatedly. His arms were wrapped around my trembling frame, and with my face I leaned into his neck. He didn't seem to mind I was still crying a little, and simply held me tighter. I felt like I could live forever in this moment.

I pulled away from Scott's neck, and looked up at him. He looked back at me with the same eyes; love. Slowly he leaned down, and his lips barely grazed my own, as if asking for permission. When he pulled back, I looked at him in the eyes again, and very gently kissed the corner of his mouth. His thoughts conveyed words to me. I knew he loved his wife. And I knew he was scared of love again, but I knew he had hope for us. No matter what was going to happen, I knew I had Scott, and Anni, and even Logan a little.

I put my face in his neck again, just enjoying being held. He was my first kiss. Happiness was rolling off me in waves, no matter how bad my vision was a little while ago. It all seemed like it was going to get better.

And then I heard Anni scream, filled with fear and pain, and the alarms went off. Before I could even tell Scott what was happening, the alarms were going off and I was getting ready to go kill some people. Scott simply looked over at me, and I simply nodded. The Coats were here. And we weren't very happy about that. We ran from the room, hand in hand, prepared to defend all the things this school stood for.